Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #33

QUESTIONS
Please tell me something you have done recently that was really fun.

That's easy! Because of a memorial that I made to my uncle and his wife that were murdered in 1977, my long, lost cousin who was born in Germany found me and through me, found his American brother and sisters. THIS is what family history and genealogy can help us to do, to bring families together again, and keep future generations connected. It can help answer questions, fill in missing pieces of the puzzle, and bring about loads more happiness than I can express!

Do you worry about any issues regarding food/food quality/food production?

Yes. I worry about the poisons that are put onto the foods and onto the fields to grow the foods and about the chemicals/hormones put into the animals to make them more marketable for our dinner plates. I think natural pest control and companion planting are much better ways to deal with the problems. I don't like the idea of the government monkeying with the food supply in ways that make it less safe for all of us.


Have you painted any of your walls with colors other than white, beige, or tan?

No, but I would love to have a kitchen with a red wall in it!


What is your favorite way to have a hamburger? If you do not eat meat, what is your favorite sandwich?

I like them well-done, almost to the point of being burnt, but not burnt. I like them with chili, mustard, and onions AND lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. When I have ordered them that way at restaurants, I get really funny looks from the order-taker. :)


Please finish this sentence. If I could, I'd like to play_____________________. This could be a musical instrument, a part in a play- use your imagination. :)

When I was a little girl, I wanted to learn to play the violin. By the time I got to high school, I wanted to learn to play the saxophone. I've always wanted to learn to play the piano, too. None of those things happened and it is too late for me to try now. The saxophone was out of reach for me to start with; I don't have the lung power necessary to play it and didn't, even back in high school. But, it would have been so much fun!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #32

QUESTIONS:
What are you most looking forward in the remaining months of 2014?

I am looking forward to our daughters having safe semesters at school and for our Davey to make it safely back home from Marine boot camp.


Tell us about the last movie you saw, or book you read.

I think the last movie that I saw was Frozen, but we watched it via DVD here at home, not at the theater. It was an interesting movie, but really very sad.


Do you ever make smoothies or juice?

The last time we tried it turned out icky and we haven't tried it again.


Who do you wish you could talk to right now?

I really wish that I could talk to my Grandma and Grandpa Spence. The embassy told a lie on them to my cousin and I really would like to hear their side of things.


Please finish this sentence. "If I could spend a week in a lovely cabin in the mountains I would like to_______________________."

I would like that lovely cabin to be back home in the Blue Ridge Mountains along the parkway. I would like to take photographs of the gorge with all of the beautiful fall colors, colors that we don't see out here in the fall.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #31

Questions

Are you still enjoying (or not) summer, or are you geared for fall?

It is always too hot here in the summer time. I love winter, except generally it is too warm here in the winter, too. 89 degrees on Christmas Eve is not normal in the real world. I think it is a law around here.


What's the one room in your home that you'd like to make a big change to?

All of them! I would love to make such a change that it was an entirely different house, wayyyyyyy out in the boonies. In regards to making an actual change in this house, the first place I would choose is the kitchen. It is not laid out the best way for me and the cabinets/counter tops are too high for my short stature.


Do you ever send "snail mail"?

Yes, we send snail mails to our new Marine fairly often. Unfortunately, more are being returned to us than ever reach him. :(


Do you dream? Often? Do you have nightmares?

I dream often and most of the time remember at least a little snippet of the dream. I have had a string of bad dreams lately. In one bad dream, my husband called me fat and uneducated. In another, I composed a suicide note. Both had me pretty unnerved afterwards.


Tell me something that makes you happy. Please.

Finding new information for my family history project makes me very happy. I found out over the last week or so that some of our folks used to live in a castle. I found pictures of the castle, well, of the keep, which is all that remains of that castle. It is called Hopton Castle and was involved in the civil war between Parliament and King Charles I.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #30

Questions
What's the earliest time in your life you can remember? Can you remember being 2 years old, 5 years old, etc?

I'm doing good to remember 48, and that is the age that I am right now! But really, my earliest memory is sitting on the sofa in my grand-aunt's front room on the lap of my great-grandmother. Grandma Carrie Williams Pressley died just after my second birthday on 9 September 1967. For the most part I don't really remember much about my childhood, just a snippet here and there and at freak, random moments. I may remember something today, but have absolutely no recollection of it tomorrow.

David's earliest memory is when he was about three years old. He heard that his sister was going to kindergarten and then having his mama immediately decide that since he was three years old, he should start learning to read. By the time his sister got to first grade, his mama was beating her head against the wall because she thought he should be able to read already. He just did not understand what she was trying to get him to do. He learned later that it would have been better if she'd taught him the alphabet first! He could recite the alphabet. He learned the song from his sister. But, he didn't know what the letters looked like or what they meant, as in "This is an A", etc.


What do you like to put on pasta? (Your favorite topping.)

I like Alfredo sauce, garlic sauce, spaghetti sauce, and broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and assorted other vegetables.

David says "My teeth!". He also said that he likes Alfred sauce. It's made with Batman's assistant. Silly boy!


Is there something that takes time away from more important things in your life? (TV, Internet, talking on the telephone, etc.)

YES! At this particular moment, with this particular class, schoolwork takes time away from things that are very important to me, like my genealogy work.

David says the TV does. The Internet doesn't really take time away from important things in his life because he does important stuff on the Internet such as our banking, his schooling, reading, etc. However, he says that he could live without the Internet.


Do you buy many clothes that are "high maintenance"? (Clothes that need to be ironed, dry cleaned, or hand washed)

Absolutely not! We do not buy many clothes in the first place. When we do, we buy clothes that are as maintenance-free as possible. We prefer to just be able to throw it into the wash, then the dryer, and then be on our way with them.


Please finish this sentence. "I'd like to visit the beach today and-------------------------."

NOT! The only possible reason that I would consider going to the beach is to collect shells and photograph the dolphins when they are close enough to get in focus. Otherwise, I detest the beach.

David gets stressed at the beach, too, because it was at a beach that he first got thrust into the grips of diabetes. He went with a church group, got very sick, and was in a coma by the end of the day that he came home. No fond memories of that trip at all.

Please Help Patrice Win a Scholarship!

Hi folks! Let's do a favor for a friend today!

Please watch the following video and like it to help our friend Patrice, hostess of Chats on the Farmhouse Porch and blogger at Everyday Ruralty earn a scholarship for a Nutritional Psychology Coaching course.


She would appreciate the help and I would be most grateful to you for helping a really nice gal achieve her dreams!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #29

Questions

Do you ever watch old TV shows or movies from your childhood or youth?

Yes. We've seen all of the Leave It To Beaver and Andy Griffith Show series several times over. We watch lots of old movies, too.

Xerxes, July 2014

Have you ever adopted a rescued animal?

We currently have two rescue kitties. We didn't adopt them from a shelter or anything (our local shelter is, unfortunately, a kill shelter and they kill kitties as soon as they get them). We found one in the mouth of a tom cat that was kit-napping it to probably kill. We named this one Xerxes. Another little gray one, that the girls have named Sparta, has parents out there, but was attacked by some insects or parasites and was nearly dead. We've gotten all of the "things" off of it and are trying to bottle feed it as well as giving it time with its mommy and daddy. It is getting more active and eating better now, so I think it will be okay.





Are you good at keeping track of paperwork and records?

For the most part, we do pretty good at this. The one set of records that keeps wandering off is our birth certificates. At $25 a pop for replacing them, they really need to stay put!

What would you like the Magic Wendell Fairy to poof with his wand, and turn into a treat for you? Any snack or sweet you would like. It doesn't have to do with carrots, or HE'D eat it!

Strawberry cheesecake sounds really good, as does a nice, cold shrimp cocktail. But, mostly the kind of treat that I'd love to have right now isn't the edible kind. I'd love a huge plot of land out in the middle of nowhere.

Tell me something interesting- please.

I don't know if you'll think it is interesting or not, but I found out something really cool about my 2nd great grandmother. You can read about that here: Delphia.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #28

Questions:
Other than those who live in your home, who's the last person who came to your front door?

The little neighbor girl came to our door yesterday to bring back one of our kitties.

Do you have many photos around your home?

Yes, we have a lot of photos, but they are not on the wall. Mostly they are still in boxes from way back in 2005 when we evacuated for Hurricane Rita. David pointed out to me that there are a few exceptions, one being my bridal portrait and the other being a photograph that I took using natural light in an historic house of a wooden baby potty and washstand. The potty picture is in our bedroom and the bridal portrait hangs in the living room over an antique cabinet radio.

Do you like mint? Is there a favorite type of mint for you? How do you enjoy it?

I like mint okay. It is something that I can only take in small doses. My favorite way to have it is combined with chocolate.

David loves Brach's peppermints and Red Bird soft peppermints. Those are the only two mints that he likes.

Do you enjoy your own parties and other times with guests, or are you so busy working...?

We don't have parties and I do not enjoy going to them. I'm not really one for crowds. I am generally a homebody these days. We do have family celebrations for the kids' birthdays, but those only involve our immediate family.  David says back when we were newly married, we had several parties. We left most of the people that we partied with back in South Carolina. We aren't really party people anymore, though we do have several families that we visit on occasion just to sit and talk. Our idea of partying is sitting on the tailgate of a pickup truck and talking about town history and how sad a dying cornfield is, among other things.

What do you want to be when you grow up more? Job, hobby, self improvement, etc.

David says thinner and healthy. That is a hope for both of us. He wants to get a couple of books written, but other than that, he says he already is what he wants to be when he grows up.

What I want to be, I don't know. Less confused, definitely! What I would like to do is document all of the information that I have on our family history and create a bound book for our children with all of the documentation included. I want to be able to tell them the stories of our ancestors and for them to be able to share it with those that are to come. I want to be able to do something that has meaning, that matters to someone other than myself. Maybe this fits that bill.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #27

Questions
1. D3 is facing wisdom teeth removal. Have you had your wisdom teeth removed?

Yes. It was the summer that I turned thirty years old. All four of them were removed. I had always heard stories about this particular oral surgeon being a meanie, but I have nothing but good things to say about him. He knocked me out good and I didn't feel a thing!


2. Today Wendell is serving iced tea, iced coffee, and carrot juice. He wants me to ask you which you'd prefer.

I would prefer iced tea just like my granny made...loaded with sugar! It was the best. :)


3. If you use a crock pot, do you have a favorite recipe? If not, what is your favorite, easy "go to" recipe?

I have a crock-pot but haven't used it in a very long time. Our quick and easy meals are usually hot dogs or spaghetti.


4. Do you prefer to wash dishes by hand or dishwasher? Yes, I know some of us probably don't like dish washing. Wendell flat out refuses!

I hate washing dishes because I get so hot standing there doing them. Hot flashes like to hit me when I'm already doing hot work. OY! Since I fell and injured myself a few months ago, it hurts very much to stand for long, too. I would prefer a dishwasher, but there's not one in this house. Maybe that will change some day.

5. What are you looking forward to?

I am looking forward to Davey coming home from Marine basic training. Before he got pneumonia, the projected date was around the first of September, but now it won't be until sometime in mid-October or later. I think I'll be in the asylum by then.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #25

QUESTIONS


What's your favorite kind of cheese?

I like all sorts of cheeses and couldn't really pick a favorite. I can tell you which one that I am not particularly fond of and that is ricotta. It just doesn't set too well with me. I am somewhat lactose-intolerant, but I can deal with the consequences of the other cheeses. Ricotta is less friendly to me.


Have you ever been in a log cabin?

Yes. I have been in several log cabins. I enjoy visiting historic places.


What is your favorite kind of salad dressing?

Our favorite salad dressing is Ken's Buttermilk Ranch.


When was the last time you saw someone from your high school days?

The last time that I saw someone from my high school days was about two seconds ago when I looked over at David. His senior year of high school was my freshman year.


Tell me what the perfect dinner party would look like for you.

I'm not really into dinner parties or gatherings, but shrimp makes everything perfect so it would definitely feature shrimp in some fashion. My most favorite dinner party of sorts was always Thanksgiving dinner at my Granny Gunter's house, but I guess that doesn't really count as a dinner party. Next would be homecoming dinners at church. Those were always great even though there were lots of people at them. More people equaled more different kinds of foods to try!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #19

QUESTIONS
Is there one person who can drive you nuts, even if they aren't doing anything in particular?

Yes. Actually, more than one.


When you were a small child, how did you answer the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

When I was a little girl, I answered, "A school teacher."

As a young teenager, my response was, "An architect."

I ended up starting college as an Early Childhood/Elementary Education major because I was too afraid of the math involved with architecture. I spent many moments drawing houses and buildings as a teenager. It was something that my daddy did, too.

It was something that I used as a stress reliever in days gone by until I was called a gold digger because of it. After the loss of my father-in-law, one of the people included in question #1 called me that because she didn't understand that house planning/design was a coping mechanism for me. She thought I had hopes of benefiting financially from his death. No amount of money on this planet could have eased the pain of his loss. I loved him as much as I loved my own daddy. Drawing and designing houses were a way to process the grief. I can't explain why, but it helped me through lots of hurtful moments.


Do you drink more sodas, iced tea, or water?

I drink more Diet Coke than anything at this point. We have to use artificial sweeteners in the iced tea due to David's diabetes. It makes me sick to my stomach if I drink it. I was raised on iced tea so sweet that you could nearly stand a spoon in it and that is the way that I prefer it. Granny made it that way, too. It was great. I am trying to drink more water, but I cannot drink the tap water here. It is disgusting and loaded with things that I am allergic to. I drink bottled water instead, which I realize is tap water, too, but it is purified and I generally do okay with it.


My favorite flavor of iced cream is________________.

I haven't met an ice cream flavor yet that I totally dislike. One of my favorites, though, is Moose Tracks. I also like Dutch Chocolate, Rocky Road, Banana Pudding (all of these are Blue Bell flavors)...and many, many more. I can't pick an absolute favorite!


Do you like to dance?

Not really. I am incredibly self-conscious. I don't like doing things that put me on display. However, years ago my late father-in-law pulled me out into the street in the little town where we lived and had me dance with him there during one of the town's street festivals. Only he could have gotten away with it. No one, not even him, has ever been able to get me over this major case of shyness.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #18

The chats have now moved to Wednesdays. For the longest time they've been on Tuesday. I'll try to remember the new day!



QUESTIONS
Do you ever watch You Tube?

I visit and watch videos on YouTube on occasion. There are lots of cool tutorial videos there for crochet and knitting and all sorts of other fields of interest. There are even lectures from various universities on there.


How are your picture taking (photography) skills?

They are not where they should be at this point. I love photography, but when I got sick, it set me back quite a bit. I was on track, but now I'm having to learn things all over again in regards to the manual settings on my camera. My eyes are having trouble and my hands shake and that affects spur-of-the-moment photography. I have to tripod everything to have any hope of a clear, sharp photograph. On a good note, however, I sold an image on a microstock photo site last week! That made me very happy.


What's your "go to" meal to prepare when you're in a hurry?

Our speedy meal is probably hot dogs.


Do you like shoe shopping?

No. I don't like any kind of shopping really, at least not the type that has me actually going into a store. Online shopping suits me just fine.


If you could be royalty for a day, would you try it?

I don't want anything that is going to have the spotlight on me. I would rather be invisible, so the answer to the question is NO!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #17

QUESTIONS
Do you like beans? (the dried bean variety) What do you like them in?

Yes, I love beans, but there is a part of bean eating that I'm not so fond of!


Does your house have enough storage?

This house has plenty of storage available. Unfortunately, we have too much stuff to store. We're working on eradicating some of the extra stuff that one accumulates after nearly 30 years of marriage.


Do you have any childhood memories of a store?

I remember as a little girl going to J. L. Brooks' store every Saturday. We had anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar that we were allowed to spend. Each week I got a #1/2 to #1-sized bag of all sorts of candy. There were Tootsie Rolls, peanut butter logs, sweet tarts, little chocolate balls, pixie sticks, caramel candy with white cream centers, bubble gum, and all sorts of teeth-rotting goodness. I looked forward to Saturdays just for the candy run!


Do you ever shop at a farmers market?

We do on occasion, but we would much rather buy directly from the farmer at his yard stand. His children are his sales team and it is fun watching these little business folks do their jobs.


Do you still have your wisdom teeth?Are you wise? :) :) :)

All of my wisdom teeth were removed just after I had our youngest surviving daughter, when I was 30 years old. I have learned a lot since then, but I don't know that anyone would accuse me of being wise.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #16

QUESTIONS

Would you rather drive or be driven?

I have been the sole driver for our family since 1996. I am a much better driver than passenger. I stink as a passenger. But, with my health issues stepping up, I am having to hand over the reins and become a passenger in the very near future. It will drive both me and the driver du jour crazy!


If you had your choice of a shiny new BMW with no conveniences inside, or an older model Ford or Chevy with everything one could want for comfort and convenience inside, which would you choose?

Hands down, I would choose a black and white 1957 Chevy Bel Air just like my daddy had AND the 1960-something white Thunderbird that he had when I was in junior high school.


Do you eat many vegetables?

I love veggies, but we don't have them nearly as often as I would like to have them. Hopefully, that will be changing very soon.


If you could blink your eyes and make a change to your body, face, hair, or nails, what would you change?

Can it be more than one change? If so, I would delete about 70 pounds of extra "me", reshape my nose, and make my eyes be balanced instead of having a lazy eye that is also crossed. I also might make myself about 6 inches taller.


Please finish this sentence. "Goody! Someone just gave me two hundred dollars and I must spend it doing something enjoyable today. I'm going to___________________."

...Take a long drive to somewhere other than this county looking for flowers to photograph and cemeteries to visit!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #15

QUESTIONS


Do you enjoy crossword puzzles, word finds, or any "word" activities?

YES!!! I have enjoyed doing word puzzles for years. I am not particularly good at crossword puzzles, but I need to challenge my brain for it to heal, so I at least try. I hate anything to do with math, but I love doing Sudoku puzzles. I know that isn't a word game, but it is a type of puzzle that I enjoy. I do about a zillion word find puzzles a day and I sometimes give myself a time limit as an additional challenge. I also like the challenge of the cryptograms that are in some newspapers. The variety puzzle book that I get has many different types of word games: scrambles, codes, letterboxes and a host of other types of puzzles that keep me busy for a very long time.


What's on your dining room table right now?

A printer and assorted other things that a college girl uses for her studies.


Do you like Italian food?

Yes, I like Italian foods. We generally just have spaghetti, but I have really enjoyed other Italian foods that I have had.


Did you ever want a brother, twin, or sister, when you were a child?

I can't say whether I ever wanted one or not when I was little. By the time my brain woke up to the fact that other people were around, I had three younger siblings. I was approximately seventeen months old when my twin brothers were born and they were about seventeen months old when our little sister was born. I was 2 years and 11 months old when she was born. It was upon me before I knew what was happening. :)

 Since I have them, I reckon I'll keep 'em!





How far away is the nearest grocery store?

The nearest regular grocery store (HEB) is about two miles from our house. Walmart is about four miles across town. Our HEB is a medium-sized one. There is a really big one about fifteen miles away to the south of us. The really, really huge stores (Kroger, etc.) are about thirty miles away, closer to the Sugar Land/Houston area, north of us.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #14

QUESTIONS


What are you doing for Easter?

I can't think of anything particularly special that we'll be doing except maybe going out to see the spring flowers. That may change, though, because it appears that it may rain through the weekend.


How many spring flowers have you noticed the last week or so?

Lots! Queen Anne's Lace is out now, which means the bluebonnets are on their way out most likely because I don't remember them being out together for long. The first ones were some little yellow things that aren't dandelions as well as the dandelions. Then some little white ones and then the Indian Paintbrushes. Then, a week or two later came the first of the bluebonnets. Now, the Queen Anne's Lace and Black-eyed Susans are showing up. Oh! And the roses around town are blooming! I love the flowers around here!

Here is a shot of the Queen Anne's Lace taken with my phone.

What was your favorite thing in an Easter basket, or as dessert at Easter dinner?

I have always loved the Easter eggs themselves, but I love the chocolate robin's eggs and marshmallow eggs and most anything chocolate. However, I've never really liked the taste of the big chocolate bunnies.


If you were a dog, what kind would you be?

Hmmm...Okay, how about a min-pin? It's a little bitty (short) version of a vicious full-sized dog.


What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Pepperoni, bell peppers, and onions, but I'm not stuck on those. I like most anything on the pizza except for mushrooms, black olives, and definitely no bleu cheese or sardines. ICK!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #13

Please be sure to click the button above and visit with Patrice on her front porch!


Questions:


What has kept you busy lately?

Trying to keep up with the A to Z April Challenge! If I am not writing a post, I'm trying desperately to come up with something to write for a post. If I'm not doing that, I'm trying to respond to comments or make comments. I guess it is called a challenge for a reason. :)


Are you making or creating anything?

I am not making or creating anything so much as just taking lots of pictures. The flowers are everywhere and I love photographing them.


What are you really hungry for right now?

Nothing really because we just ate supper. If I could have absolutely anything that I wanted, though, it would be langostinos.


What song has stuck in your head lately?

This one:




If I could celebrate my upcoming birthday with you, what would we do?

If you were celebrating it with me here in Texas, how about we celebrate it looking for flowers to photograph? There are fields full of them.  If you like antique shops, there are lots of those around here, too. Happy birthday in advance, Patrice!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #12

QUESTIONS 
What's your favorite method of travel?

My favorite method of travel is my car, Zoomie, with me being the driver. I make an absolutely horrid passenger.


If you wear jewelry, are you more likely to wear silver or gold?

I am more likely to wear gold. However, our youngest son gave me a Claddagh ring for Christmas and it is silver. I love it!


How often do you wear sunglasses?

If I'm in the car, I'm wearing my sunglasses (unless it is nighttime, of course). The sun here is very harsh and I squint even with the sunglasses on.


Which would be easier for you to leave undone (for a short period of time), dishes or laundry?

Can I choose both? I find laundry generally easier to deal with than the dishes, at least before our dryer died. Now, it is just getting harder and harder to hang the clothes up for drying.


On a scale of 1-10 (1-hardly any+ 10- house is full), how much clutter have you collected?

Way too much...10+. We're working on scaling it down, but it is going to take awhile. The biggest problem we have is the collection and storage of magazines and books.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #11

QUESTIONS
What is your favorite room of your house or apartment?

I don't really have a favorite room in this house. The master bathroom is the one getting the most use these days, but it is certainly not my favorite room!


What's your favorite topping for pancakes or waffles?

Mrs. Butterworth's syrup and butter are my favorite pancake toppings.


Do you like dried fruit?

I like raisins, but I don't think that I've ever had other dried fruit. David has and he has horror stories about it.


Please finish this statement. "As soon as we have good spring weather, I'm going to_______."

As soon as we have good spring weather, I'm going to go out and take lots of flower pictures. The bluebonnets are finally here and there have been very few days where both weather and time were working together so that I could do a photo shoot.


Tell me a memory from your childhood.

I shared one memory on this blog Saturday. You can find it here: Book of Me: First Day of School.

Grandma (left) and Aunt Mae.

Another memory that I have from my childhood happened while I was spending some time with my great-aunt, Mae P. Worley. She was my maternal grandma's older sister. She lived in a little mill village in Calhoun Falls, South Carolina. She had lived in her house for a long time and people knew her to be a kind woman. She was beautiful inside and out and would help anybody that needed her help.

One day while she and I were in her kitchen, there was a knock at her back door. She went to answer it and there was a man, a very upset man. This man was haunted by horrific memories of the death of his wife. He was crying. I was just a little girl at that point and I don't believe that I had ever seen a man cry. I didn't quite know how to handle that. He sat on Aunt Mae's step crying over and over that he couldn't get to her. I wondered who "her" was.

Aunt Mae tried to comfort him. She explained to me later what had happened that was causing him to be so upset. See, there had been a fire and he was able to get out of the house somehow. He thought his wife was right there with him. She wasn't. He turned and saw that she was still inside the house, on the other side of the flames, calling out to him. He wasn't able to get to her to save her. He watched her burn to death trapped inside their house.

This awful fire had happened many years before he sat there on Aunt Mae's back step, maybe even before I was born. To him, it was as if it had just happened. He never recovered.

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #10

Questions
What are your favorite condiments?

I really like Ken's Ranch and Buttermilk Ranch salad dressing. David LOVES Duke's Mayonnaise.


What are you reading?

David and I have been reading War and Peace since I got out of the hospital in October 2010. He has been reading it aloud for us. We're finally at 92% and have hopes of being done with it before our 4th anniversary of beginning it!


What was the last dessert you had?

I don't know what it was called, but it was really yummy. It was part of the Catholic church fish fry dinner we got two weeks ago. It was chocolate and coconut and some kind of cream and I could have eaten a whole lot more of it than what they gave me. Of course, I wouldn't NEED to eat that much, but I sure would have enjoyed it!


Wendell would like to know if you would build him a snowman. (If you don't have snow, just pretend. He's not detail oriented.)

Sure, how about a carrotman instead? That might be more doable around here since snow is a extreme rarity in these parts.


Tell me something fun or interesting.

It probably won't interest anybody but me, but I asked for a rain-check for the first time today. CVS has two types of Crest toothpaste for $4.99 each and they are offering $4 Extra Care Bucks on them. Plus, we have $1 off coupons for the toothpaste. Taking into account the coupon and the ECB, the toothpaste will effectively be free. Of course, these were the two types of toothpaste that they were completely out of. The book that I just finished reading "Pick Another Lane at the Checkout, Honey" told about CVS and their rain-check policy and that I would still be able to get the Extra Care Bucks (ECB) even when the sale is over if I had a rain-check. So, you bet I asked for them!

We're slowly but surely getting this couponing thing figured out. We now have enough toilet paper to last us for a couple of months at least and laundry detergent for the next 6 months or so. I don't know what our next stock up item will be, but I look forward to figuring that out.

Another thing is that I've started another blog. You may recall that awhile back I said I was working on a project. Using WordPress for it didn't work out for me (yet), so I decided to just go ahead and put it on Blogger. It is a crochet and knitting blog, still pretty bare bones at the moment. I plan to customize the template eventually, but right now it is really simple. Please check it out at: P.S. Annie's Grannies!

Chats on the Farmhouse Porch 2014: #9

Questions
If you are in the US, does the time change mess you up?

Not usually. I'm messed up anyway. I can never remember what day it is. Not remembering to change
the clock forward or back does make for some pretty interesting moments, like at the CVS the other
day when the pharmacy tech told us to come back at 11:45am to pick up the prescription and it was
already 12:05pm. The store's clocks had not been reset yet.


Do you usually drink a beverage with your meals?

Yes. I generally have a glass of Diet Coke as well as a bottle of water nearby.


How often do you iron clothes?

Am I supposed to do that?

When was the last time you took an enjoyable walk?

I have taken a little bit of a walk each of the last few mornings. My reason for walking wasn't so much for the walk itself, but to photograph the flowering trees in the circle in front of our house. I find that very enjoyable, especially if nothing bites me while I'm out there.


Tell me whatever you'd like to share with us.

The only thing I can think of right now to share is the post that I made earlier regarding my new
art adventure. You can read it here: Photography: Macro Expressionism.